LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Declan Rice of West Ham United warms up ahead of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on October 24, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Paul Childs - Pool/Getty Images)
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have kept an interest in Declan Rice previously and they could well pursue him in the future. The West Ham man has garnered the attention of Premier League clubs, most notably Chelsea.
The 21-year-old English midfielder started out his youth career at Chelsea back in 2006. After getting released, he joined West Ham’s academy in 2014.
After four years in the youth team, Rice broke into the first-team during the 2017-18 season. In the following seasons, he impressed one and all and has since gone on to make 120 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists.
Despite playing for the Ireland national youth teams and representing the senior side three times in friendlies, Rice pledged his allegiance for England and was subsequently drafted into the Three Lions setup.
So far, he has 10 caps for England. Rice is a very versatile player who can play as a defensive midfielder and also as a centre-back.
When Nemanja Matic was signed in 2017 from Chelsea, it was seen as a real coup. It really was as Matic performed superbly during that season. Yet as time went by, Matic’s age seemed to be catching up and his lack of mobility was surfacing. He did revive his form at the end of last season but it was short-lived.
While Scott McTominay has done a decent job playing Matic’s role, his inexperience and tendency to surge forward makes him a huge gamble in defensive midfield. His dependency on Fred is also a bit worrying as he doesn’t really look comfortable without the Brazilian sweeping behind him.
There’s a reason why Declan Rice has been the talk of the town in recent seasons. He has become one of the finest young and emerging holding midfielders in the league. Declan Rice is a player United need.
He is young and has proven himself over the last couple of seasons. A tough tackler with a calm head on his shoulders and the ability to play in different positions? Sounds like a great all-round deal for Solskjaer.
United have been leaking goals with relative ease and they need someone to plug the holes. While Rice alone cannot solve the issue, signing him would be a huge step in the right direction for the club.
